American infantry rode to war on the backs of tanks. Lacking enough armored carriers to keep the foot soldiers up with the armor, the U.S. Army did the simple thing: it sat the riflemen on the tanks themselves. Perched on the hull and turret of a Sherman or a tank destroyer, a squad could move at the speed of the armor it supported, then jump down to fight when the shooting started. It was fast, it was cold, and it was dangerous — riders were exposed to every bullet and shell fragment, and a near miss could pitch a man off into the snow — but tank and infantry needed each other. Armor without infantry was blind and vulnerable; infantry without armor was slow.

The four are sculpted seated and without bases — a deliberate design so they can perch on the hull and turret of a tank, drop into a foxhole, or cluster on any groundwork. One draws on a cigarette, another waits with his rifle across his knees; between them they carry a Thompson, two M1 Garands and a BAR, a squad's worth of firepower ready to dismount. They are made to ride the Sherman "Kraut Killer" into action, and they share the collection's waiting mood with Staying Warm and Taking a Break. Riding a whitewashed Sherman through the snow, they turn a tank model into a whole combined-arms scene.

Model: BBA101 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 4 piece set (no bases)